Recently, it was brought home to me that being constantly conscious of the legacy we are leaving as we live our daily lives is the secret to saying that final farewell with peace, joy and grace.

Where am I going with this? Well, I touched “death” last month and I want to share my experience with you for you to consider. In hindsight, it was one of the greatest things that has happened to me as now I no longer fear that last day. I am prepared. I have been living prepared. And here’s why…

It is true. We don’t know when our number is up. Remembering as Steve Jobs so poignantly and truthfully stated , “If you live each day as it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” So the question is raised, how do you live each day?

I realized as I lay in the back of a paramedic van, my darling young daughter nearby, and uncertain if it truly was my last moment, that I was happy with the legacy I was leaving. That it truly was “okay.” Yes, and those were the words I shared with her as she anguished over my possible final departure, and it comforted her, which comforted me. “It’s okay, don’t cry, it was bound to happen one day and I am okay with it, please be okay too, because I am …”

My feelings were so honest and now in reflection so surprising. This was not how I imagined I would feel or what I would say to my family. Yes, I was given the gift of a dress rehearsal, and it has moved me more than I can say. It was real and the fact is I had made it so with every breath I had taken while I was here.

As anyone would, I have contemplated this event over these past weeks, to understand why was I so at peace? Why, even in the face of leaving my young children, was it so “okay,” and why I now do not fear my grand finale. It is because (even at a time of growth and still in my mid age with “so much to live for”), I have lived every day of my life in line with my “big picture.”

So herein is the secret to it. Ask yourself these questions today, don’t delay. What do you hope to achieve with your life? What legacy do you wish to leave? What is the story you wish to be told of who “you” were? Have you made your mark? No regrets. There is time, there is right now, today.

Are you leaving a legacy of who you were and what mattered to you? Have you lived your days authentically, with kindness, courage and love? No fear of failure and perhaps running off a cliff at times, but were they your cliffs and you had chartered them.

Personally, I realized that I have bitten the apple and tasted the joy and the pain that life can bring, boldly and fearlessly. I have learned. I have touched others and changed lives. I have pursued my dream every day. I have left legacies of my own personal creativity and they can be cherished and enjoyed as memories of me. I am leaving a little piece of who I was and what mattered to me. I shared me.

There is no failure if you have always tried. Have you been the best that you can be? Do you have your affairs in order and do you know what it is you are leaving for those who you hold dear? How will you be remembered? By this I do not mean are you leaving the almighty dollar, it’s not about the money, more importantly, what is the essence of you that you will leave behind?

Did you write that memoir? Did you paint that picture? Make that quilt or write down that recipe? Did you share your heart everyday, bringing joy to a friend in need, or a perhaps even a stranger? Did you help make a difference beyond what you could imagine or could afford? Did you do your bit to save the planet? What is your legacy and will you be happy and at peace with it?

Yes my friends, we are all going in the same direction and to the same location, but what you will feel in your heart when that inevitable day arrives will have been written in the way you lived your life and the impact it has had on others. I hope I have given you much to think about and to do.

Live colorfully!

Concetta Antico is mother, wife, Tetrachromat, fine artist, instructor, writer and creative muse. Her stunning Tetrachromatic oil on canvas masterpieces reveal her brilliance and super vision and may be viewed at www.ConcettaAntico.com. “Live Artfully” is a trademark of Concetta Antico and Zenava Inc. Her Salon & Gallery are located at 1920 Fort Stockton Drive, Suite A, Mission Hills, San Diego and are open to the public from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, and by appointment. Concetta welcomes your creative thoughts, comments and ideas at Muse@ConcettaAntico.com.

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